Advancing the narrative through first person interviews
March 12, 2015
March 11, 2015 marks four years since our brothers and sisters up in Tohoku (northeast Japan) experienced the devastating impact of not one, but three disasters. In the past I have pointed to short films made by filmmakers Jeffrey Jousan, Ivan Kovac, and Paul Johannessen, such as in this piece Storytelling that grabs the heart as well as the head. And in this piece Storytelling, POV, & the power of first-person narrative. Today, as a way of commemorating the Tohoku disaster and remembering the great struggle that people face in such places as Ishinomaki, please take a look at a followup film below. In this example too there is no narration. Moving a narrative forward through the thoughtful compilation of first person interviews has long been one of my favorite documentary storytelling styles. This is a very interesting, provocative, and evocative film.
I agree that first-person stories are incredibly captivating and a powerful way to understand complex situations. I would point out Haruki Murakami's book "Underground," which looks at the sarin gas attack in Tokyo through the eyes of people riding the subway that day, and members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult that perpetrated the attack. The stories are laid out without commentary, and build on each other until a deep, three dimensional picture is created in the reader's mind. I can't think of a better way to try to explain the inexplicable.
Posted by: plus.google.com/108349509586981024814 | March 13, 2015 at 02:30 AM
Thanks for the book suggestion. Murakami's book looks very interesting indeed. Just ordered it. Thanks very much!
Posted by: garr | March 16, 2015 at 11:17 AM